Prospects for the development of jewelry market in Azerbaijan discussed

On February 18, the meeting with the entrepreneurs on the topic "Prospects for the development of the jewelry market in Azerbaijan: problems and opportunities" was held at Baku Business Centre. The meeting was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Economy, State Customs Committee, State Tax Service, “AzerGold” CJSC, Small and Medium-sized Business Development Agency, specialized organizations for precious metals of Turkey and Uzbekistan, and entrepreneurs.

Making a speech at the event, the Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov emphasized that sustainable and rapid development of non-oil sector in Azerbaijan is one of the important tasks set by the head of state and that the development of the mining industry is one of the important directions in diversifying the country's economy, highlighting the prospects of creation of a value chain in this area. The Minister of Economy noted that one of the main goals include implementation of the reforms in the jewelry industry and transformation of Azerbaijan, which has a favorable geographical position, modern transport and logistics infrastructure, into regional centre in this field. Focusing on great potential in non-ferrous metals, including gold mining in our country, the Minister of Economy emphasized that the extended application of international practices, implementation of incentive measures and transparent regulatory policy will also be important in the development of the jewelry industry, and further decline of "Shadow economy".

Afterwards Safar Mehdiev, the chairman of State Customs Committee, spoke and provided information on import-export procedures of precious metals and relevant customs legislation. Emphasizing the importance of a state-business dialogue and discussion of existing challenges for the development of the jewelry industry, the Chairman of State Customs Committee informed about the significance of taking measures to restore jewelry traditions and develop national art.

The chairman of “AzerGold” CJSC Zakir Ibrahimov, who emphasized that Azerbaijan is rich in jewelry traditions, shared his opinion on the possibilities of developing the jewelry market in our country, as well as the factors affecting competitive activity of market actors. The chairman of the company said that the products made of Azerbaijani gold and silver were introduced to the retail market from February last year and that the solution of existing problems will contribute to market transparency, increasing the role of the jewelry sector in the non-oil sector, and economic development in general.

Orkhan Mammadov, the Chairman of the Board of the Small and Medium-sized Business Development Agency, made proposals on the development of the industry talking about the activities of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs acting in the jewelry market and about issues encountered by the business in this field, .

At the event, Deputy Director General of “Darphane ve Damgha” Printing House of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance of Turkey Ahmet Guven Pado spoke on the topic “Issuing the licenses to Fineness Houses, Setting Standards, Laboratory Analysis of Precious Metals”, Deputy Chairman of “Uzbekzargarsanoati” Association Nodir Mirahmedov on the topic “The development of the jewelry industry, the importance of fineness control in Uzbekistan”, accredited jeweller of Gemological Institute of America, founder of “RƏSM Jewelry” brand Rasmina Gurbatova on the topic “Opportunities for exporting Azerbaijani jewelry”, associate professor of Art Academy, member of Union of Artists, jeweller-designer Shahin Alipanahov on the topic “Preservation and development of jewelry traditions”.

The event discussed future development of the jewelry industry, and decided to establish a working group to develop a plan of proposals for the implementation of reforms in this field.